Inu no Haka Monogatari
by warai kata
Summary: Based off of Wasurete Nemure  Sleep and Forget   from the Rumic World series of short stories.Things get deadly when Haruka, her mom, and her dog, move to the north. And what do the dreams Haruka keeps having mean?This tale of the unknown will shock you!
1. The Move

**1983**

** Ch. 1- The Move**

** Haruka sat on her bed thoughtfully. Sadly. Today her and her mom were moving far away from Tokyo. They were going north. Haruka didn't get the reason…No one had told her anything until a few days ago. But the packing had gotten her to become suspiscious. Why? People didn't pack for no reason. They packed because someone was moving and reasons like that. **

** Haruka looked out the window sadly. Her and her mom had never been very rich, they had always lived in small apartments, even with their little dog, Mei. They were lucky they even got to keep her. **

** Maybe Tokyo had become too expensive and they had to find another, cheaper place to live. **

** As Haruka thought about the possibilities, the next day soon came…**

** "Why are we moving?" Haruka then asked her mom as she held Mei in her lap as her move drove to wherever they were going. **

** "Because we couldn't pay to stay there anymore…" her mom answered thoughtfully, with obvious worry in her voice. "And also…I can't keep seeing him with that whore." She added bitterly. Haruka blinked. Mei did also. **

** "I'm sorry." Haruka said sadly. Her mom sighed. **

** "It's not you." She informed her. (Her mom's name is Natsuko)**

** "It's just that you two have been apart for a few years now," Haruka began nervously. "…I just don't want you to still be sad about it." She explained. Natsuko turned to her slightly, a little confused and worried. **

** "You don't have to worry." She told her with a smile. "Things will be better soon." She pointed out. Haruka smiled, Mei just eyed both of them in confusion. **

** And as they drove along, the outside got more white and white. Snow. **

** "Where are we going?" Haruka asked in confusion. **

** "To the country." Natsuko answered casually, trying to drive up an icy hill. Mei then began to bark. "Will you be quiet?" Mei just continued to bark…And then they slid back down. Natsuko sighed. And then she tried again. And after at least five more tries, they finally made it up the hill and continued. **

** They continued to drive in silence when Natsuko decided to turn the radio on…It was too quiet it got annoying. **

** And after some time, they finally made it to the small little town. Natsuko then parked the moving truck in front of the new place they were staying at. Haruka then hopped out of the truck with Mei in her arms, but it seemed Mei wanted to go exploring. As Mei struggled to get out of Haruka's arms, Haruka found that it was very hard to contain the exited little dog, so she just let her down. **

** Natsuko opened the back of the truck and then began to grab some boxes when she walked inside. She expected Haruka to help her, but Haruka seemed worried about Mei wandering. **

** "Haruka, you need to bring in some boxes too." She informed her. Haruka turned around, surprised and then went into the truck, hoping Mei just stayed in town and didn't wander into the forest. **

** When they found their room, it was very small. It was a one and a half person sized room. Both of the girls sighed and then began to put down the boxes and then went out to go get more. **

** "Mei?" Haruka asked, when they got back outside. Where was she? She was just outside of the building when they headed for their room. "…Ugh." She mumbled. **

** "You can go get her later." Natsuko told her, annoyed with all the boxes. Haruka agreed, but only a little. Mei was the only pet they had. And they had had her for many years. **

** And when they were done bringing all their things in from the truck, Natsuko began unpacking their things with Haruka's help. **

** "How do you think she is?" Haruka then asked with worry in her voice. Natsuko gave her a look of confusion. **

** "She should be okay." Natsuko told her. Haruka said nothing and went over to the window. "You can go look for her if you want." She then told her. Haruka then turned around and hurried out of the apartment. "…That was fast." She mumbled. **

** Haruka followed Mei's pawprints in the snow the best that she could, but it was snowing, so that didn't help that much. **

** "Mei!" she shouted. Mei barked, but she heard far away. "Mei!" she shouted louder. Haruka walked and walked, she was becoming tired. MEI!" **

**Mei barked again. Haruka sighed. She just continued to walk. **

** "Is this dog yours?" a voice asked behind her. Haruka turned around in shock and saw a dirty look man around her age holding Mei. Mei just barked happily as Haruka took her. **

** "Yes." She smiled, with relief. The man just eyed her, with what looked to be a bit of a glare. "Thank you." She told him. Mei just barked and began to lick her. **

** "It's not smart to let her come around here," the man began. "If she comes to the dog mound, bad things could happen." He told her. Haruka didn't know what to say. Mei just barked, wagging her fluffy tail. **

** "…Okay." She smiled. The man just said nothing and waited for her to leave. **

** "I'm serious." He told her. Haruka didn't know what to say to that. She never said that he wasn't. **

** "I'm new around here, I just got here today," she began. "I never meant for her to wander over here." She explained. **

** "Good." The man said. Then Haruka began to carry Mei back to their new place. "Don't let her come here again." The man reminded her. **

** "Okay." Haruka agreed. **

** "Maybe you should put a leash on her." The man suggested. **

** "I'll think about it." Haruka said, getting a bit annoyed. **

** "She's small, she can get lost easy." The man pointed out. Haruka then turned to him with an annoyed glare.**

** "I will not let anything bad happen to my Mei." Haruka stated with a hint of annoyance in her voice. But, now the dirty looking man was already walking in the opposite direction. "Ugh….!" Haruka mumbled. Then she continued on her way, as did the man to his place in the forest. **

** What Haruka didn't know is that the small town she and her mom just moved to had a lot of secrets. Ones involving the dog mound…**


	2. New School

**Ch. 2- New School**

**Haruka carried Mei home with confusion. Who was that boy and why was he that paranoid about a dog mound? It wasn't like it brought bad luck. Mei looked up at her and wagged her fluffy little tail. She barked a little. Haruka then pet her, content that she didn't run away. **

** When the two got back to the small apartment, Natsuko was standing outside with one raised eyebrow. **

** "I'll take her." She told Haruka, taking Mei. Mei barked and nuzzled Natsuko. **

** "You're Haruka?" an older lady asked. Haruka blinked and then noticed that she was standing next to her mom. Haruka nodded. "I'm the manager here. It's nice to meet you." She told her with a bow. Haruka bowed to her. "So, you two came all the way here from Tokyo?" she then asked. Natsuko nodded. **

** "Yes…It was getting too expensive there." She sighed as the three ladies and the little dog entered the apartment. **

** "Tokyo is an expensive place." The manager agreed. "But, it's nice that you came here." She smiled. "Kiso is a nice place to live." She added. **

** "Yes," Natsuko agreed. And then she turned to Haruka. "And you'll be starting school tomorrow." She reminded her. Haruka looked up at her in shock. **

** "Oh." She said, surprised. **

** "Did you forget?" Natsuko asked with a smile. **

** "No." Haruka answered. **

** "How old are you?" the manager asked her curiously.**

** "Sixteen." Haruka told her. **

** "I have a daughter around the same age as you." The manager smiled happily. "She'll be back around five. Maybe you can meet her." She suggested. Haruka nodded. **

** She had completely forgotten about school. What a tiring first day in this new place…!**

** Hours passed and then the manager's daughter had come home…**

** "I'm back!" she informed her mom. The manager then walked over to her. **

** "How are you?" she asked. **

** "Cold." Her daughter told her, taking her coat off. "…Are the new people here?" she asked, confused. **

** "Yes. They're in their room." The manager told her daughter. **

** "…What are they like?" her daughter asked suspisciously. **

** "They're nice people." The manager told her. Her daughter sighed and then went to their room. **

** "Does it fit?" Natsuko asked Haruka, as she put on the new uniform. **

** "Yeah." Haruka told her. **

** "That's good." Natsuko smiled. Mei barked. Then there was a knock. **

** "Who is it?" Natsuko asked. **

** "My daughter is back." The manager told her through the door. **

** "Oh." Natsuko said with surprise, and then she got up and opened the door. **

** "I'm Nakata Mari." The manager's daughter said with a bow. **

** "Kamishiro Haruka." Haruka said, also with a slight bow. Mari observed her for a few seconds and then smiled. **

** "So, we'll be going to the same school." She said with a weird smile. **

** "Yes…" Haruka said, a bit confused by her tone. Mari just eyed her a little. Haruka blinked. **

** "I hope you like it here." She chimed, walking back to her room. Her mom followed. **

** "We'll see you tomorrow." The manager told them. **

** "Okay." Natsuko said. She then shut the door. "…That was nice." She said, with a hint of confusion in her voice. "At least the manager seems nice." She smiled. **

** "Yeah…" Haruka said thoughtfully. **

** "Why don't you change and I'll get the futons out?" Natsuko suggested. Haruka nodded and began to change while her mom got out the futons. Mei then whimpered. Haruka then picked her up and held her, after she changed. **

** And when they were finally in their futons, Haruka found herself to be very awake. **

** "How long is the snow gonna be around?" Haruka asked her mom. **

** "I don't know…Maybe until spring or something." Natsuko answered. Haruka didn't know what to say. Maybe it would've been better if they moved earlier around the start of the school year. Walking in the snow was hard, and even colder in a uniform. **

** "Oh." Haruka said. She then pet Mei. She then began to fall asleep…**

** The next day soon came and Haruka and Mari were off to school…**

** "So, your mom surprised you with moving here?" Mari asked as they walked along a path to the school in the snow. **

** "Yes…I think." Haruka answered.**

** "That's weird." Mari commented casually. "…What? You think?" she asked, confused. **

** "I knew we were moving but I didn't know where." Haruka explained. **

** "That's still weird." Mari sighed a sigh of annoyance. **

** "All I knew is that we were going north." Haruka pointed out. **

** "Weird." Mari stated. **

** As they walked along, they soon came to the school. It was called Kiso High School. Just that. **

** "Okay, we're here." Mari smiled. "Now, where's your class?" she then asked, looking at Haruka's schedule. "Oh…Opposite side." She told her. Mari then continued to walk, so Haruka just continued to follow her. She didn't know the area enough yet to go walking around by herself. **

** They then entered the classroom that was on Haruka's schedule. **

** "Have fun today!" Mari chimed. She then hurried to her class. Haruka looked into the classroom. She hated being a new student. It was always intimidating. **

** "Are you Kamishiro Haruka?" the teacher asked, entering the classroom. Haruka nodded. "Come in and I'll introduce you then." He told her casually. So, Haruka just followed him in. **

** The students stopped what they were doing and noticed their teacher, and the new girl. **

** "Good morning." He greeted. "This is Kamishiro Haruka." He introduced. "She is from-!" he began, but then remembered he didn't know. "Where are you from?" he asked. **

** "Tokyo." Haruka answered. **

** "She is from Tokyo." The teacher announced. "Do you have any questions?" he asked. **

** The students just began to talk to each other while others just blinked in confusion about having a new student in the middle of September. **

** "Why did you move here?" one of the students then asked. **

** "I don't know…" Haruka answered nervously. **

** "Are you smart?" another asked. Haruka just didn't know how to answer that. If she answered yes, the students might view her as a self-centered girl. But if she answered no, then they might view her as an idiot. If she answered "I don't know", then they would view her as an idiot also. There was no good answer. **

** "…I-!" Haruka began nervously. **

** "Okay, that's enough." The teacher decided. "Find a place to sit." He told her. Haruka then searched for an open seat and then sat down when she found one. **

** The school day that would be the usual for at least a few months continued…**

** Haruka and Mari then began to walk home, Haruka looked in the direction Mei had ran in yesterday. **

** "What are you looking at?" Mari asked, a little freaked out. **

** "Nothing." Haruka smiled. **

** "…It's just a forest." Mari pointed out. "There's nothing interesting in there." She explained. "…Except for a grave of some kind." She pointed out. **

** "A dog mound?" Haruka asked. Mari gave her a look of surprise and confusion. **

** "Dog mound…Never heard of it." She then told Haruka casually. **

** "You haven't?" Haruka asked, confused. Mari shook her head. **

** "All I know that there's a part of that forest that is a bit…scary." She explained. Haruka blinked. Interesting. **

** "What makes it scary?" Haruka asked. **

** "What makes you this curious?" Mari countered. **

** "Okay, I'm sorry." Haruka said, a bit offended. **

** "Good." Mari stated, insulted. **

** So, they finally got home and they took of their shoes and then headed to their respected rooms. **

** "How was your first day?" Natsuko asked her curiously. **

** "It was okay." Haruka told her, taking off her coat and then petting Mei. **

** "That's good." Natsuko smiled. Haruka then sat down and looked out the window. **

** "Do you know of a dog mound around here?" Haruka asked her curiously. Natsuko looked at her in shock. **

** "No. How would I know of something like that?" she told her, confused. "I just moved here too. I wouldn't know of anything like that." She explained. **

** "Okay. I was just asking." Haruka told her, surprised by her response. **

** "I think the cold is getting to you." Natsuko commented. **

** "What?" Haruka asked. **

** "Yeah." Natsuko stated. "But I do know that there have been dog masters living here for many years," she began thoughtfully. **

** "How do you know?" Haruka asked her curiously. **

** "The manager told me." Natsuko informed her. "She said I could find out more information at the library or something, but I wasn't interested." She explained. **

** "Oh…" Haruka said, with interest in her voice. Natsuko looked at her with curiousity. Mei barked a little and then hopped onto her lap. Haruka pet her thoughtfully. The only problem was having time to go to the library, even the one at school. **

** As days passed, Haruka had stopped by the library, but for some reason, Mari had always found her and dragged her away for some more interesting stuff to do. Mari was nice…But pushy. **

** And then one day, one of the cold, snowy days of Kiso…**

** Haruka was walking home from school with Mari like every weekday. It was like ice outside, but that was the usual and Haruka was slowly getting used to it. She didn't like it. But she was getting used to it. **

** Haruka looked up at the hill and then saw a dog sniffing around for something. Haruka observed it as they walked along. But what was it doing alone? **

** "Scary." Mari commented, a little freaked. **

** "Why?" Haruka asked, confused. **

** "Only rabid dogs are alone." Mari pointed out. **

** "…Why?" Haruka asked, even more confused. **

** "Because they kill everything around them." Mari told her as if she should know that. **

** "Oh…" Haruka said. The dog then noticed them and began happily walking up to them. **

** The dog was a white Shiba. It was slightly wolfish looking with some Akita features. It was a decent sized dog and it didn't look like it had rabies, like Mari had said. It wagged its curled fluffy tail as Haruka walked up to it. **

** "If it bites you, then I'm not paying!" Mari snapped. **

** "It's not gonna bite." Haruka told her, a little annoyed. **

** "If it does…you know." Mari stated, backing away. **

** The furry white dog panted happily as Haruka pet it. Mari then walked a little closer and then began to pet the dog too. **

** "Very soft." Mari smiled contently. "Like a pillow…But with fur." She added. **

** And as they pet the happy white dog, a shadow then came over the three. It was something they did not expect…Not at this time… **

**Haruka looked up in shock and was very surprised to see who she saw! **


End file.
